The Light Beneath Darkness' Shades
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: AU HP/DF x-over. He had never hated anything as much as the Dementors, and the one who had released them from their charge to suck light out of life, leaving nothing but empty shells for control...
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **__This story takes place towards the end of the first Wizarding war, in the year 1981 (where James and Lily Potter where killed and Voldermort forced into hiding. Voldermort states in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: "The Dementors will join us. They are our natural allies." Therefore, although there is no mention of them being used in the first war, I can feel justified doing so in my story. True they are used for Ministry Purposes, but then they legalised the use of the Unforgivables during the war after they were outlawed in 1717 and Dumbledore states, in response to Fudge, that "The rest of us sleep less soundly …Voldermort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can." It was a similar situation as with the giants. It could be bigotry, or it might not be. Since it's relatively open, I call author's privileges on it._

_Another thing. I know the Frontier gang from Digimon live in Japan and all, but it's an AU. I've dislocated them to Britain to fit it in with the storyline. There's a lot more subtleties to play with when you've got the characters cemented, hence why I like AUs so much._

_I don't know what colour robes Obliviators wear, so I made them purple because of the background of the wiki-page. If someone knows, please tell me._

_The Triwizard tournament was discontinued sometime after 1792 but the exact date isn't given. More space to play with._

_This story isn't all that long (thank goodness). Six to eight chapters I think. Haven't quite finished the plan._

_Hopefully the next note won't be quite so long. Sorry 'bout that._

_Enjoy, and R&R._

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><p><em><strong>THE LIGHT BENEATH DARKNESS' SHADES<strong>_

_**Chapter 1**_

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><p>'Koichi, please stop pacing.'<p>

Koichi Kimura certainly heard his mother, because his footholds faltered for a brief moment, before he fell back into the anxious laps around the living room. Their curtains were tightly drawn, but every now and then he would tweak them back to peer into the dim streets, then quickly draw them back and continue his pacing. And that had been going on for over half an hour.

Tomoko's hand shook a moment as she reached for her tea again, taking it into her hands only so they had something solid to grasp.

'I know he's late,' she said soothingly, trying to swallow her worry for the younger twin. 'But he's been late before.'

'Not this late,' her elder son disagreed, still walking in circles, feet barely making a noise as they touched the carpet as their owner waiting anxiously.

The soft "pop" of Apparition five minutes later had both mother and son on their feet and ready in a second, wand in the hand of the latter.

'Who is it?' he asked softly, tweaking the curtain again.

The crystalline blue eyes of his brother greeted him.

'It's me,' Koji's voice replied.

But the elder twin made no move to unlock the door, nor did the younger to attempt the handle.

'What was Mum going to name us if we were female?' Koichi asked finally, thumbing through a question they hadn't already needed to ask.

'She was going to name you Hikari,' the other replied quietly so eavesdroppers, should they exist, would be hard-pressed to hear. 'And me Akari.'

But still neither answered the door.

'What was the first thing you said to me after our fight last year?'

Koichi bit his lip lightly. Trust his brother to bring that up. '"How the hell did you manage not to get yourself trampled,"' he quoted.

There was a grunt of approval before he undid the enchantments locking the door before unlocking the Muggle deadlock, quickly letting the other in before relocking everything again.

'You're pale.'

'Sorry I was late,' the younger twin apologized, brushing off his mauve robes and ignoring the other's statement. 'Everything's a mess.' He absentmindedly rubbed his right arm, grimacing lightly. 'The giants knocked down a bridge over at Caldicot; three cars and a truck went down, and some scum wiped out a Muggle Boarding home shot up the Dark Mark. Too many people saw it, and it wasn't even a clean kill. Slowed everything up. Took ages to clear.'

He was scowling at the end of it, but not because of all the extra work the war was causing, especially when it came to keeping the Muggles, non-magical folk, both ignorant and safe.

'How was your day?' he asked in general, trying to wipe off the scowl and making an extra effort to lighten his tone as his mother was looking at him in concern.

'Same old,' Koichi shrugged, collapsing on the couch. 'Too many injuries for the personnel at St Mungo's to be able to manage. There's so many casualties all over the place. So many people getting hurt.'

'How many this time?'

'I don't count, Koji,' his brother frowned wearily, and a little sadly. 'I'm a Mediwizard. I just help the people I can, whether that be on the field or in the hospital.'

'Enough about that.' But Tomoko was frowning as she stood up and put an arm around each of her sons. 'You're both safely at home, and that's what's more important.'

Both sons looked at their mother, then exchanged glances over the top of her head. It was true; they were safe, with as much enchantments they could muster up together. But their mother, being a Muggle, had just the tiniest bit of difficulty understanding the war. She loved them both, had no problem with them being Wizards, but as she had trouble understanding all the associated concepts and, as far as her knowledge went, the wards the twins had set up around the house were enough to stop any unwanted visitors. And they had been so far.

'I don't like you two going out in all that though,' she said worriedly.

'We have to, Mum,' Koji said soothingly, placing an arm around her and guiding her to the table. 'You no neither of us can stand and do nothing. We have to try and do what we can, and we do have to work.'

'And we can take care of ourselves,' Koichi inputted. 'It's you we worry about.'

Tomoko sighed. 'I believe that's my job to be worrying about the two of you.' Her sigh turned into a frown. 'You're looking a little pale.' She looked at Koji.

'Yeah, well that Muggle Boarding scene was rather messy.' He put on a fake smile that convinced no-one. 'I'm starving though. Let's have dinner.'

Koichi gave him a look that clearly said that they'd talk about this later.

* * *

><p>'What was different about the scene?' Koichi asked, once they were alone and their mother had gone off to bed.<p>

'What was different about what scene?' Koji shot back, slipping out of his robes and into his sleeping clothes.

'Don't play dumb with me,' the elder twin scolded. 'You don't get pale over the usual murder scenes.'

The younger twin sighed, pulling the hair-tie out of his hair, then running a comb through them.

'They're sick bro. That's it.'

'The Death Eaters?'

'No. The Dementors.'

There was a silence as Koichi stared at his brother, mouth hanging part-way open. 'D-Dementors?' he repeated, stuttering a little. 'What are _they_ doing in a Muggle village?'

Koji shook his head. 'Hell if I know, but everyone's at a loss. Someone from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is looking into it. At the same time, we Obliviated anyone too close and who felt the effects, and the Muggle-Worthy excuse committee is working on covering up the deaths.'

'Too much to deny it ever happened.' Koichi eyed his brother's arm again. 'Let me see your arm.'

'It's not a new injury,' his twin replied, rubbing it slightly. 'It's from the Erumpent.'

The elder twin frowned at him, before turning away and clamouring onto his bed, picking a book off the bookshelf.

'Oh come on,' Koji sighed, a little exasperated. 'You're still hung up over that? They removed the horn.'

'Considering you won the tournament by default by the simple fact that your rivals were almost _killed_ by the said rampaging Erumpent, I would think you wouldn't talk so casually about it,' Koichi snapped in a single breath.

'Having a rampaging Erumpent on your tail is good training for when you have to thread your way through Death Eaters and Dark creatures to keep Muggles safe and blissfully unaware of their danger,' the other pointed out, before adding under his breath but still loud enough for the other to hear: 'because of this damn war, they might as well have turned us all into Aurors because we're doing that plus our jobs.'

'And that's all beside the point, seeing as that wasn't your intention in throwing your name into the goblet of fire.' The book sat in his lap, but he didn't open it, simply staring into the eyes of the feline on the front cover.

'That's because you're a goddamn Ravenclaw!' the younger twin exclaimed, a little loudly. 'Always need an answer for everything.'

'I think,' Koichi said quietly, looking up. 'That it's perfectly justified when their _younger_ brother throws themselves into reckless danger for no consequence.' There was a pause, and when Koji finished fastening the last button and collapsed on his own bed, the other continued. 'We never did properly talk about this.'

'No,' the other agreed, rubbing his temples a little. 'We haven't. It was our first real fight.'

'It was.' Koichi set his book down. 'Why did you put your name in the Goblet? Without telling me too?'

Koji rolled over, so the two brothers' eyes met once more. 'I put my name in the Goblet because outside the walls of Hogwarts a war was becoming progressively worse each day and I wanted to be ready before we were thrown into it, so I could protect Mum…and you.'

Koichi looked at him. 'I think…I always knew you never did it for the glory,' he said quietly. 'But it hurt that you hadn't told me. That I had to find out when the Goblet threw your name out in front of an entire school that's not even ours.'

To be honest, he hadn't thought about that at the time, and he said as much. 'Truth be told, part of me was afraid you'd talk me out of it.'

'And this is coming from a Slytherin?' Koichi raised a black eyebrow, looking eerily like his brother before falling back into his usual softer expression, the one that endeared him to patients both on the field and in St. Mungo's. 'You know as well as I do, when you set your mind to something there's no deterring you.' The intense look fell as his lips parted slightly again. 'Unless…'

'Unless I wasn't sure enough to risk that,' Koji admitted, easing the elastic out of his hair and combing through the long strands with his fingers. 'It was risky, but I still think we were safer under the guard of our Headmasters and Beauxbatons-'

'That's an understatement,' Koichi interrupted. 'A trial-run of the Triwizard Tournament that was rolled over during the first task?'

'Okay…when you put it that way.' Koji sighed again. Sometimes there was no getting around his brother. 'But being mowed down by a rampaging Erumpent does prepare you for a lot of extreme situations. And _you_ made a show of being so disapproving and what not and slip a vial of Angel's Trumpet Drought into my robe? How the hell did you get your hands on that anyway?'

Koichi blushed at that. 'Professor Slughorn's private snores,' he replied. 'And I was worried.' And he hurriedly added at the other's smirk: 'you dare mention that to anyone and I'll spike your coffee with Laugh-inducing potion. And since you're so bad at potions, it'll take you ages to brew the right antitode.'

'You wouldn't dare,' the other spluttered, before smirking again. 'I still can't believe you Mr-perfect Ravenclaw stole from my Head of House. How did you not get c-caught?' His tone sounded like he was trying quite hard to prevent himself from cracking up. Of course, no-one could blame him; the idea that his elder, more responsible and generally rule-abiding brother would break the rules for him was touching, but also amusing past the surface.

The dam broke at the last word, but the moment Koichi opened his mouth to retaliate (whatever happened to their serious conversation?), a silver-glowing swan glided through the window.

The laughter immediately ceased as Koji turned to scowl at the Patronus as it opened its beak.

'Again outside office hours?' he asked, being talked over towards the end of his question.

'Charlton Road, Keynsham' intoned a low gravelly voice. 'Outside the mortgage shop.'

Koichi sighed once the silver light faded into a low mist. 'Better get going.'

'Need me to come with?'

'Considering you look run off your feet, I don't think that's a good idea,' the elder twin replied, pulling his sleepwear off and rapidly readorning his on the job uniform, lime green robes with a bone and wand crossed as the emblem and underneath the muggle-medic wear for dealing with muggles. Never knew when it could come in handy, but most wizards, especially pure-bloods, didn't take such precautions. 'I'll be back soon.'

'You'd better be,' came the reply, but considering the other was halfway across the house by then, snatching up the potions kit (disguised in the Muggles' eye as a first aid kit), he couldn't tell the tone.

He quickly unlatched the door, reversed the charms, and slipped out before retriggering them, along with the additional _Colloportus_ to lock the door and stop the average Muggle thief.

After that, he spun on the spot and disapparated with a quiet "pop".

* * *

><p>'…Conjunctivitis Curse,' Koichi sighed, straightening up from a swollen-eyed wizard. 'Sight would have been a liability after that. Cruciatus, and…hmm, that's interesting.'<p>

'What is?' Fellow Mediwizard Clara Clayton asked, looking up from her own patient.

'He's stunned,' the other replied, wiping the surprise from his voice and summoning an Oculus potion from his kit. It was far easier than fishing about and risking the wrong potion being administered, especially due to the extendable charm upon the case to fit as many potions as possible and deemed necessary. Remarkable how even then there was sometimes need for something not on hand.

'The Cruciatus doesn't normally go with stunning spells,' the brunette commented, bow furrowing as she straightened up and transfigured the man below her into a bone. 'Avada Kevadra. Fourth one.'

'So why leave this guy alive?' the raven-haired male wondered, plugging the other's nose and forcing the potion down his throat. Within the minute, the swelling had gone down, enough to leave the puffiness as a slight bruise. A gloved hand gently prodded the skin, and in another minute, the closed eyes looked entirely natural.

Clara shrugged, albeit a little suspiciously, before rolling her sleeves up again and levering her wand. The other straightened into a crouch position, and pointing his wand at a particularly safe pressure point, whispered: '_Rennervate'._

The man's eyes opened. All the two Medi-Wizards had time to notice was they were a light shade of grey before he attempted to blast them. '_Confri-_'

The brunette woman, ready for such a ploy, quickly retaliated with a stunning spell that just missed being deflected by the shield charm her workmate threw up. The red jet of light hit the other square on the chest and he slumped into his original position.

'Some thanks,' Clara muttered, brushing her sleeves back down. 'Never know who you can trust these days, and that's without the Imperius to consider.' She looked at the four bones, then the unconscious body before finally averting her stare to the other Mediwizard. 'Draw straws?'

Koichi got the longer one, so he wound up levitating their mystery survivor into the hands of the Ministry. The short straw involved quite a bit of paperwork.

'A poor setup if it was that,' the official on duty that night muttered to him. 'Rare enough to find a peace in this damn war. Why I ever became an Auror…'

The nineteen year old left the elder to his rambling, spinning on his heel and apparating home.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: _**_I read this rhyme somewhere, which is how I came up with the wands in this fic. Note that they're not the same as the wands used in Meian no Tsukene. The rhyme is: "rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans". And Koji is definitely stubborn. Acacia is, according to Pottermore, unsuited for "bangs and smells" magic, and tends to the more subtleties, so I think that's a good wood for Koichi. Takuya's (who'll pop up eventually) will have Sycamore, a wand "eager for new experiences and losing brilliance if engaged in mundane activities". Apparently, they'll set the wizard/witch alight if forced to summon slippers or eggnog too many times. I think it suits. Now, the cores: definitely dragon heartstring for Takuya. Koichi's has the stalk of a dittany plant which is strongly favoured towards healing spells (he is a Mediwizard which is basically an on-call Healer), and for Koji…a Kneazle hair I think. Their personality is very…interesting, according to Harry Potter wiki._

_As for the Patronus charm, Snape remains the only Death Eater to date who can summon a Patronus Charm. Cool huh. Another point to Sev._

_Marlene McKinnon was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and she died in July 1981. Travers was one of the Death Eaters involved in the raid that killed her whole family._

_Princess Diana was engaged to Prince Charles on February 24 1981. British Royal Wedding. Lots of Muggles (if you're a wizard or witch to use that term). Let's just assume there was a crowd, just as there was in the wedding. 3500 people live._

_Side-along apparition I think is easier than being the one actually apparating, hence why Harry managed to get Dumbledore back to Hogsmeade. However there's still the risk of splinching, like how Ron did in the seventh book._

_Enjoy, and R&R._

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><p><strong><em>THE LIGHT BENEATH DARKNESS' SHADES<em>**

**_Chapter 2_**

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><p>'You're working overtime <em>again<em>?'

'Funny you should say that, seeing as you work later than I do anyway.'

Koji sighed and shook his long ponytail before pushing the bangs that had decided to stick away with the hand not holding his wand. Coincidently, both twins had apparated from two different locations almost on top of each other, and seeing as they were in the middle of a war and all, the end result had been their respective wands a mere inch from the other's brow, one ash with Kneazle hair (much to his initial chagrin; Koichi was the cat-lover of the family) and the other acacia and dittany stalk. The exclamations had followed after as the twins relaxed the wrists holding their wands and confirmed the other's identity, by the Patronuses they had immediately conjured as the chill registered in their minds. One thing the war had done was put every graduate wizard and witch on high alert to combat Death Eater, Dementor or giant.

And it was while the lioness and wolf chased away the onslaught, helped by their guiding wands and a few others floating about: an ox, a rabbit and some sort of a bird.

'But you start earlier,' Koji pointed out, nudging his wolf towards the others, while Koichi's pawed at the ground on the other side, before tacking one of the black figures.

'You guys really shouldn't be having a discussion right now!' another Obliviator yelled, before changing tactics as his bird swooped down on another Dementor. 'Take that you stinking-'

'That's enough,' the only woman sighed, letting her rabbit disappear into white smoke as the little sunlight left just before the sun went down returned and the dark creatures vanished. 'They're gone.'

No-body missed the "thank-goodness" laced in her voice, before raising her eyebrow at the twins. 'I don't believe we've met before, though seeing as both of you managed corporeal Patronuses I can say that disproves you of being a Death Eater.'

The twins exchanged glances at that.

'Death Eaters can't summon a corporeal Patronus?' Koichi asked curiously. He hadn't remembered reading anything about that while writing the essay on Dementors for Professor Redwood in his sixth year.

The woman shrugged, flicking her loose blonde back. 'They all run like cowards, and to think they're on the same side.' The statement was punctured with a scowl, before she stuck her wand up her sleeve and held out a hand. 'Marlene McKinnon.'

Because she was a foot taller than anyone else there, she was forced to look down on her associates. Everybody was short-staffed, so it was only a single MediWizard, two Obliviators, someone from the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee (because they had to explain a mass number of Muggles suddenly collapsing during an engagement ceremony), and three wizards (two wizards and a witch would be more accurate) watching the ceremony, including the order representative. _Of all the times for Prince Charles to decide he wants to get married, _Marlene thought. But it would have been a poor lookout if a few hundred Muggles were found dead in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

No wonder Dementors had swooned in. It must have been a feast for them.

The others all congregated around the blonde.

'Koji Minamoto,' Koji replied, not relaxing his grip on his wand (left hand) as he shook the other's right. 'Obliviator. That-' He pointed with his wand at his brother, who had let go of his own Patronus and was already replicating some chocolate and coaxing it into the hands of the nearest sobbing girl, tryin to gently pry her away from a still body. 'Is my brother, Koichi-' He cut himself off before he added "Kimura" to the end. No need for everyone to know their parents are divorced.

'A MediWizard?' she asked, impressed. 'Ordinary Healers aren't quite as adept in fieldwork. I'd help, but my healing's never seemed to grasp.' She shrugged. 'I'd better go.'

She left without a goodbye, which suited the other perfectly as he went over to his brother instead, pointing his wand at the girl's head once Koichi moved away to deal with someone else.

Because there were two Obliviators and only one Healer, it took twice as long for the MediWizard to declare everyone "alright except varying degrees of "shook up"". Apparently, the two wizards who decided to take a short break from everything and see their future queen had been remarkably quick on the uptake, and the Dementors hadn't managed to administer the kiss on anybody. There had been a few unconscious, but they were stirring too, thanks to a blasted heat charm melting the chocolate and coaxing it down their throat. Well, that and a "_Rennervate."_

'Where the heck are all the other MediWizards?' Koji grumbled as his brother finished checking on the last person and decided to take a breather. Running diagnostics required more concentration than the instantaneous sort of spells, and to repetitively do it tended to cause a headache at the very least to the well experienced. And a caster who'd only graduated just over a year ago would wind up with something more akin to a migraine, which prompted him to point the tip of his wand to his temple and mutter a spell that caused a green fog to momentarily pass over his eyes before relieving the symptoms…temporarily. The more permanent spell would require more concentration; he'd be better off doing it at home. Not to mention Koji, being Koji, had done nothing for the blood beginning to show through his robes.

'Heh, I hadn't even noticed that,' he commented as the other yanked him down to eye level ungracefully and ran his wand over the area of the wound.

'You wouldn't,' Koichi sighed as the remaining wizards came over.

'Let's go before the Muggle Mediwizards-whatever they're called-get here.'

'Paramedics,' Koichi supplied, looking down at his own Muggle attire as Koji dragged him off. The address alone had informed him it would be useless putting the green cloak on. Actually, it was only the two Obliviators in their identical purple cloaks and paler tunics.

'Yes, them,' the other nodded.

'What's the excuse?' Koichi asked as Koji thanked his brother and pulled him to his feet, tapping the potions kit and reducing it to pocket size.

The man from the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee grinned, having apparated away and back during the time it took to check and heal everyone. The two Obliviators had caught up after getting their stories straight for the memory modification. 'A presumable foiled rebel attack. Some sort of gas was released but the police arrived on a confidential tip off before they could do anything further, so they fled.'

'Was that a good idea?'

He shrugged. 'Terrorist attack might have started an international war, and we've already got one.'

'We implanted some memories into a few "witnesses",' the other Obliviator added. 'Stuff that went out of date hundreds of years ago. They'll have a time impersonating anyone. Good thing we don't have to do the paperwork.'

'Well, I do,' the man from the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee pointed out. 'So count your lucky stars. Not to mention I'm going to chase down that incompetence Willworth-'

'-from the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?'

'That's the idiot. It's been months and he's got no explanation.' He spun on his heel at that point and vanished with a "crack".

'Can't blame him though,' Obliviator no. 2 shrugged, before smacking himself on the head, muttering something about rudeness, and stuck out his hand for Koichi to shake. 'Harold Persest. And you're Minamoto's brother, right?' It sounded more rhetorical; the looks alone did it, but Koichi nodded anyway.

Harold scratched his head. 'I completely forgot we haven't met before. I know Minamoto well enough. Anyway-' A Patronus, this one looking like a lizard of some sort, interrupted them, delivering its message and vanishing.

'I've got this one.' But there was a little pepper fading from his tone as he said that. 'See ya.'

Then he spun on his own heel and vanished, a little more quietly than his predecessor.

'You're going home,' Koji said immediately.

'I know I am,' the elder twin replied, rubbing his head again. 'In a few minutes.'

'Well, I'd better head off now. I still need to report to Jones.'

He had half-spun himself before another Patronus flared up between the twins. The result was the younger twin spitting curses at the regal peacock with a bloodied stub where his arm had been and the other jumping up in panic before his healing instincts kicked in. The peacock ignored the start it had caused, simply stating its message in a panicked sort of voice, ignoring or perhaps being unaware of the splinching it had caused.

'Dark Mark over Mayfair.'

Then it faded into vapour, living two horrified yet identical faces behind.

'Mayfair?' Koji croaked, before scrunching his face in pain. He'd never gotten splinched before, and he decided one thing. It hurt like hell. He was never going to laugh at Takuya for his disastrous first attempt again.

Then the pain suddenly vanished as Koichi finished his casting upon catching the reaction, siphoning the blood off thereafter with a _Tergeo_.

'Err…thanks.'

Koichi wasn't exactly paying attention, dabbing some dittany over the wound to prevent possible scarring.

'What was that about Mayfair?' he asked once he was done, putting the stopper on the tiny bottle (it was unfortunately a rather complicated potion to make and rather expensive to buy).

'You didn't hear?'

'You don't sound like yourself,' the MediWizard frowned, before shaking his head. 'To answer your question, no. I didn't hear. I was more concerned about the fact that you'd splinched yourself.'

'Oh…' Koji shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and climbing to his feet, muttered: 'he said the Dark Mark's over Mayfair.'

The other drew a sharp breath in panic. 'Mum!'

'Focus,' the other snapped, though not unkindly, grabbing his wrist hard and twisting. Koichi did, letting his brother be the guide; he was exhausted and trying to keep his emotions controlled enough not to splinch himself took a bit more.

They vanished together with a "pop", masked by the trees in the groove they had stopped in as the sound of sirens finally reached them.

* * *

><p>Koji managed to catch his brother before he fell over, but because he was looking up at the time, he accidently let go almost immediately, normally strong appearance going slack at the confirmation of their fear. The green smoke hovered, larger in life as a skull with a snake coming out of it. The skull happened to be right over the apartment complex where they currently lived with their mother. They'd live on their own; their father was a wizard and could take of that part of the family, but they were worried about their mother, stuck in the thick of the Wizarding war because her health wouldn't let her leave the country…not to mention she flat out refused to leave her sons, despite she understood little of the world that had taken her sons.<p>

And the Dark Mark glared at them as Koichi straightened himself and looked up too, drawing in a sharp breath, then a small cry as Koji threw him off balance again and ran in.

'Hey, wait!' Almost on reflex, his wand was back in his hand. Whether their fears were proven true or false, it was no sight that either of them should have to face. He would have to; there was no other MediWizard available (otherwise they would have helped at the Palace garden) to examine the patient (or body). But there was no need for an Obliviator…or a normally stoic son panicking.

So the jinx was at the tip of his tongue. And because it was a subtle spell, it was easily cast.

'_Impedimenta!_'

The jinx tripped the younger twin between the two sets of doors, that to the apartment complex and the one to their own apartment. The moment let the elder twin catch up.

'Stop using so much magic,' Koji snapped at his brother. 'Your reserves aren't infinite.'

The fact that he was snapping at his dear brother told them both he was afraid.

'You're not going in there.'

'Why not?'

'Because you'll either be completely useless or do something crazy,' Koichi shot back, lifting his wand again. For a moment, Koji thought the other was actually going to use a body-bind curse on him (wouldn't put it past him after the Impediment jinx), but the nineteen year old simply pointed at the door.

It easily opened to the non-verbal unlocking charm. A simple charm too, which didn't work quite so well with the acacia wand as it did with the ash.

'The wards…are…' His voice failed him as his mouth flexed uncertainly. The blue eyes stared blankly at their missing handiwork.

Koichi beat his brother this time, stepping over the threshold of the apartment before the other managed to. Hence it was that he was blocking the door when the sight registered.

He could see the blood splattered on the living room ceiling, barely poking out from the hallway, and smell the putrid copper. Seeing as they had left school to a war, both of them had seen their fair share of gory scenes, especially him, the slightly elder of the two whose job was to salvage any life from them. He started forward, almost hesitantly…in fact, he had to practically force himself forward. It was like walking through a nightmare, ironically one he had had before. Only the body had been in one piece-

He turned wildly and crashed straight into his brother, knocking them both into the hallway again. The wand fell out of his grip, but not before it erected a screen between the hallway and the living room where the younger twin just realised the door, now in three pieces beside them, had once stood.

'Ko-'

'Don't look,' the other gasped, clinging to his brother's robes and burying his head in them, like he had done with his mother when he had nightmares (except his mother didn't wear robes, being a Muggle herself). 'Don't-I can't-please-'

The other's blood went cold.

'Mum?' he forced himself to ask.

The other mumbled something, sounding like he was trying very hard not to cry while remembering to breathe at the same time.

That wasn't good enough. As terrible as the truth seemed to be, he couldn't go with non-answers. Surprising, seeing as he wasn't the Ravenclaw of the family, but before he could raise the wand in his hand, his brother shook his head.

'Don't,' he gasped. 'Expulso-everywhere-blood-bit-' He broke off, trying desperately to calm his breathing. His mind wasn't working properly; everything was spinning.

The image was disgusting, even without seeing it. There were easier and far less messy ways to kill people than blowing them to bits. A _Homenum Revelio _was enough to tell him the result, and he shook, lowering them both to the ground. Unlike his brother, eyes now closed but a moist outline still shining faintly. In comparison, his eyes were stinging, dry…and he just felt hollow, and guilty. Just as he (despite all he had convinced his brother) had felt when the Erumpent had taken down his rivals during the Triwizard Tournament and one had to go to St Mungo's with permanent brain damage; he'd gotten away quite likely because his strategy had been avoidance rather than a frontal assault. The difference here was he'd been the one to lay the protective wards on the house that morning; Koichi had left about six am for the hospital. And the wards had been broken through.

But somehow, that hollow guild made it easier to think, easier to focus…somewhat. '_Accio Calming Drought,'_ he muttered, pointing towards their bedroom and hoping his brother had kept some in store. He had, and a small phial sped towards him before deciding it was needed more elsewhere and forcing itself into the elder twin's mouth.

Startled, he choked, letting go of his brother's robes and covering his mouth a little too late and the phial clattered to the ground. On normal occasion, both twins would have questioned the odd behaviour; perhaps Koichi had accidently used one of the "modified" vials, courtesy of one Takuya Kanbara, instead of his regular unbreakable ones.

By the time he got his breathing under control, his brother was trying and failing to produce a Patronus.

'It's okay,' he interrupted softly, using the wall as a support. 'I-I guess I had better do it anyway.'

Even without the light, both looked rather pale. It just so happened they dealt with things in different ways.

'You sure?'

'Yeah…no-1-' He shook his head lightly. The calming drought dampened his emotions temporarily, but also zapped the energy they fuelled. He hadn't taken enough to calm him completely, which was a good thing. He couldn't stand how his brother dealt with things, locking them away like he did. He'd probably explode himself…or go mad…

His fingers found the wand, and gripped it tightly.

* * *

><p>Waiting was one of the hardest things he had to do, but the mental image alone was enough to stop him trying to enter the room, let alone the barrier the other had still left. Koichi was right; he didn't want to see that. If he did, he'd never forget it. Better to imprint happier memories; the last time he would ever see his mother was when she was fixing the collar of his cloak before kissing him goodbye…<p>

The barrier fell after awhile and his brother came back, leaning heavily against the wall. Koji had been right; he'd done too much magic that day. More than his body could handle. The temporary spell he'd used to control the migraine returned full force, but the exhaustion overlayed even that. Despite how much he hated blood, he couldn't muster up the energy to expel the churning contents of his stomach. Only the surroundings kept spinning; luckily he'd only noticed after he'd finished with the spells otherwise he could have seriously botched something up…

* * *

><p>He caught his brother as he slumped forward, before levitating him to bed and tucking him in. Upon a moment's thought, he drew up a chair with his wand (hardback), a bottle of butterbeer and a glass. No doubt he'd need something heavier, but he needed to make sure Koichi got to sleep first. He probably wouldn't be sleeping at all that night.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__This chapter continues pretty much directly after the last one. But there is a time-skip after the second scene. The real story starts at the end of this chapter. Rest was mostly background and incorporation. _

_St. Mungo's is based off the Order of the Phoenix. And if anyone remembers, some Junior Minister was admitted for getting his brains addled after an improper cast of the Imperius Curse._

_Apparently it was common for kids to marry or get engaged straight out of school during the height of Voldermort's power. Takumi again, though there is a mention of a past affiliation between Zoe and Koichi…which only serves in this fic to strain the relationship between Zoe and Koji._

_As for the failing to produce a Patronus, I forgot to explain that in the previous chapter. Shock affects it; you have to be able to summon up a powerful happy memory. Remember when Fred died, Harry, king of Patronuses, couldn't summon one for a bit? Same sort of thing. _

_Question: Are any Harry Potter fans who don't know all that much about the Digimon characters reading this? Sounds like an odd question, but I do have a reason for asking._

_I'd apologize for the cliffhanger (planned mind you) but I keep on bumping into them in a lot of stories I've read lately…_

_Enjoy, and R&R._

* * *

><p><em><strong>THE LIGHT BENEATH DARKNESS' SHADES<strong>_

_**Chapter 3**_

'Are you two complete idiots? You almost gave us a heart attack. Dark Mark over the apartment, wards down, the living room looking like it's been hit with a _Reducto_ and you guys didn't even think _to clean up the blood_!'

The last part came out as an ear-shattering shriek that caused Koji, who had been in the process of lifting a newly filled cup to his lips, to drop it and wince. The glass shattered (the regular kind, Koichi absolutely refused to use wine glasses except for special celebratory occasions).

'If you're going to barge into someone's apartment without knocking,' he muttered sourly back to the female who was standing part a ways behind him with her arms crossed. 'You could at least have the decency to be quiet.'

The blonde's face melted into an expression of concern but with a danger lurking in the green eyes, prompting the wand to stay where it was. 'You're not going to hold me at wand-point making absolutely sure I'm not a Death Eater?' she asked.

'Hmmph, whatever.'

He simply snatched up a second glass within arm's reach (just in case, he didn't feel like mending the first one) and pouring some wine into it.

'You don't seem particularly concerned,' the woman noted. 'What? Asking for a Death Sentence.'

This time she was completely ignored.

'Tch.' That was clearly insulting. 'You're lucky you're either my fiance's best friend/best friend's brother or the guy pretending to be him otherwise you'd be lying unconscious in a Ministry cell for suspected impersonation.' The statement indicated that she still wasn't sure. 'You're acting the same way you were after that big raid Koichi got messed up in at the end of last year.'

When she got no answer, she pressed on again. 'The Dark Mark? Do you even know how worried we were about you two when we saw that. And the blood-we almost thought you'd been murdered in your beds-'

'Mum, not us,' the other said emotionlessly, draining half the glass before staring at his reflection. 'Dammit, need something stronger.' His words came out slightly slurred.

'No you don't.' A wordless summoning charm brought both the glass and bottle to her hand before she guided them to the kitchen sink. 'Hold on a sec…' The reply just registered. 'Your Mum is…'

That explained the Dark Mark and the mess in the living room. That also explained his out-of-character behaviour…or it was a rather good excuse of it. She didn't know him all that well…in fact, she only knew him to begin with because of Takuya and Koichi, and the pair weren't exactly on best terms because of the latter (which was actually no fault of his own). However, they got along well enough, especially when Koichi, sick of the glares they had been shooting at each other through the final year, threatened to lock them both in the Prefect's bathroom. Seeing as neither of them knew the password, they would have been stuck till the next time someone thought to use them. And neither of them doubted Koichi would do that; between his twin brother and his ex-girlfriend they had enough experience with him.

As for her relationship with the elder twin…their "thirty-second" dating-phase had been the single most awkward part of their friendship. Unfortunately, the label as "ex" had wound up sticking even as they melted back into their best-friend persona. All the grief they had had to put up with, a guy and a girl being simply _friends_…

Koji was the other case. He didn't quite believe Koichi first time he had tried to convince him it wasn't her fault. Or the second for that matter. Somewhere deep down, he still blamed her, and he would probably still blame her until his brother was married and settled…which didn't look like it was going to happen soon. He was too busy caring for other people to manage a romance, and becoming a healer was tough work, from getting the required OWLS to their numerous NEWT counterparts (one of the largest curriculums) then the speed-training before one chose to either become an Assistant Healer or a MediWizard (much higher marks were required; it was almost an accelerated course), with as much studying as they could cramp in afterwards to gain the title of Healer. They had sped up the process during the war, because the aid of Healers of any calibre was vital, but there were very few truly qualified Healers remaining because all the trainees and fresh graduates were working overtime trying to manage injuries. It was like sending "Doctors" into the field after a three or four year crash course in paramedics rather than the five year equivalent bachelor.

Of course, being crammed together on end because of their common alliances, ie. Takuya and Koichi, they had no choice but to get along, and that did eventually reform the friendship, even if the strain still existed.

Koji simply took another sip of his glass, not realising that neither the glass nor the drink inside were in his hand. He didn't even appear to notice no liquid was dripping down his throat, or if he did, he didn't appear to care all too much.

'I would have thought at least one of you would have kept your heads long enough to follow protocol,' Zoe pressed on, deliberately skirting the edges and leaving her other statement unfinished. If they weren't in the think of a damn war she'd be more comforting, but she still couldn't be sure. Koichi missing was a good factor; they didn't normally split up when something was bothering or hurting them…unless they were on the road to revenge. And it certainly didn't look like the latter, seeing as Takuya hadn't come out of the bedrooms down the hall. He would have if there was nothing there, and it certainly wasn't the time to be playing pranks.

She paused once realising the other wasn't putting up any sort of fight, not even a sarcastic one. 'Oi. _Stupefy_.'

A red jet of light shot out of her wand and hit the other square on the back. Seeing as it functioned as the Wizarding equivalent to a slap on the face, she had absolutely no qualms whatsoever letting the attack hit. More importantly though, a Death Eater would have blasted her through the wall…or at least retaliated. They wouldn't risk getting knocked out for more than an hour and losing their disguise.

_Why _hadn't someone thought to invent an antidote to Polyjuice Potion?

Koji cursed violently, something the other would normally hit him for. But then again, this wasn't a normal situation. 'Can't you even knock a person out properly?'

'Maybe you're just too hard-headed to be knocked out by a single stunner, but at least I can safely assume you're not an impersonation.' Her expression dampened completely after that and she lowered her wand, though she kept a good grip on the rosewood wand all the same. He could still be under the _Imperius_…although she didn't think drinking mixed too well with that. 'I'm sorry, but you know I had to make sure.'

Inwardly, she was thankful that the other _wasn't_ trying to fight back. She may be a Ravenclaw, but when it came to fighting against someone like Koji, she was pretty helpless. Only when it came to fighting against someone like Koji mind you. She could take down Takuya in a duel if it came to that. She had gotten an "E" for Defence Against the Dark Arts, putting her skill on par with the elder twin's, but Koji had still beaten the both of them with his "O". He had been hoping to become an Auror, but hadn't been able to scrape up the required Potions mark.

That statement seemed to remind the younger twin of something, because he scraped his chair aside and made to stand up. Only he stumbled, held on to the back of his chair and cursed again.

'Shut up Zoe,' he muttered suddenly, letting go of the chair and making to move, only for the said female to grab his arm.

'Hold it,' she scolded. 'I didn't say anything, and it's rude to brush of a girl you know. What were you drinking?'

She resummoned the glass with her other hand and gave a burst of laughter. 'This stuff's diluted.' Koichi would do that, seeing as she seriously doubted it was the younger twin's handiwork. Then the implications hit her. 'God, how long have you been sitting here?'

'Don' know.'

She resisted the urge to smack her head, but decided she couldn't really blame him. It might not be the time nor the place, but you couldn't hold off emotions. Not for long anyway. Though there were some people who hated to deal with them.

Koji would be one of those people. Luckily Koichi was different in that manner. He'd freak out, get hit with the barrel of emotion, try to do the rational thing and then collapse and sleep on it…normally. There were lots of variations in his part, but that was what normally happened. She should know; she had shared most of his classes for seven years.

'Aargh, this is hopeless,' she groaned, twisting her wand around to point in Koji's face. No doubt he'd get her back for this…unless Takuya managed to set him straight. And she decided she'd better leave it to her fiancé; in whatever state Koichi was it had to be easier to handle than a guy she'd never seen drunk before. Sometimes guys really were idiots. Though a dark voice in her head wondered how she'd deal with walking into the murder scene of her mother's body, even at nineteen years of age. Not well, the other part of her admitted. Drowning in a foggy sea sounded rather good as far as that went…temporarily.

Which was interesting. She'd have to tell Koichi off…unless he was sick or something.

Which reminded her, what was talking Takuya so long?

Never mind, she'd look for him after dealing with Koji.

A jet of cold water shot up out of her wand, hitting the other square in the face.

'What the hell was that for?'

Zoe grinned in triumph. 'No need to thank me,' she said innocently. 'I repaired the wards for you two by the way.'

Koji blinked, before shaking his head. It still felt like it was stuffed with fog…but iced fog now. Which meant he was starting to get a headache, and as he turned around to glare at the other, his eyes caught sight of the scene in the living room.

Zoe followed his gaze at the half-gasp. 'I'd better call for someone,' she sighed, guessing correctly the others hadn't managed it before calling out her own Patronus, a funny sort of bird. With another whispered spell, it soared out the broken living room window.

* * *

><p>'So, you guys going to be okay?' Takuya asked, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. Koichi sat up in it, blanket up to his chest and held there by his wrapped arms. He shrugged, staring at his knees as the beginnings of tears formed.<p>

'I guess,' he replied, voice wavering a little. 'It was a shock.'

'I'd imagine,' the other said sympathetically. He hoped he didn't say something tactless in the whole conversation.

'It also feels like we failed,' the black-haired man continued, staring at the acacia wand sitting innocently on the cabinet. He hadn't bothered to pick it up; he knew it was Takuya because he had tried to freeze the water the washcloth had been soaked in, and succeeded. If it had been anybody else using that wand, the thing would probably have blown up. In fact, it had done so with its rightful owner too: it was a wand enthusiastic for new magic and not so much for the mundane things. 'We, Koji and I, we always set the wards. Last one out, first one back.'

'So Koji does it in the mornings-'

'Don't you dare blame Koji!' Koichi snapped heatedly, before flushing a little redder than he already was and turned back to his knees. 'Sorry.'

'Hey, you're better than Koji.' Zoe startled them both as she poked her head through the door, before groaning at the look in his eyes. 'Scratch that, you're both impossible. Sheesh, try talking to each other.'

She had conveniently not known the circumstances that had split them up. After all, she hadn't an invite to Buckingham Palace.

The sound of banging followed her out, along with a yell.

'Takuya, take care of that idiot friend of yours, will you?'

* * *

><p>'You all right kid?' A healer asked, giving the MediWizard a sweeping look. 'Haven't seen you in here for a while.'<p>

Koichi shrugged in answer to the question. 'It's been more field work lately.'

'Hmm…' The older man sighed, bending over his latest patient. Looked like a werewolf victim. 'It's a shame we can't cater for everyone.'

It had been awhile since the death of their mother, and because they were in the middle of a war, there couldn't be an inquiry. They all knew it was a Death Eater's work; the Dark Mark and their Muggle-hating tendencies were proof of that. But both were becoming somewhat accustomed to going home to an apartment a little earlier than usual once the initial shock wore off and all that. Of course, some rather nasty murder scenes he was called in for brought that back to mind at times and he no doubted it was the same for his brother. But with casualties mounting and He Who Must Not Be Named gathering power by the day, it became even more important to them to keep others safe. The failure weighed down them both, prompting them to work harder at what they _could_ do, rather than focusing on what they could not. Of course, that had taken a little while and some help from friends too. He'd even had to take a couple of days leave, seeing as his magic had been acting up, but everything seemed fine now. Or as fine as people could be in the middle of a warzone.

The elderly healer looked up after a moment. 'Oh right. Go to the fourth floor. Spell Damage. Aberle's a little swamped, what with Braxton regrowing his bones and all after that tussle with that Giant. And keep your hat on straight.'

The advice was sound, as Healer Aberle Griffeth was rather preoccupied with a victim of a mis-cast Imperius Curse who alternated between beating himself up and beating the lamp on the table beside him, gritting his teeth to ignore some of the lesser problems, including one rather unfortunate boy who was the target of an _Entomorphis _hex and was now being prevented by his panicked parents from climbing up to the ceiling in his current insectoid state.

Koichi immediately decided that would be the first problem to solve, seeing as it was supposed to be a _temporary_ hex and the boy should have reverted back to his original state. Not only had he not, but he was shrinking too.

It took a bit of work to revert the grasshopper into a twelve year old boy again. That really was a job for a regular healer who probably could have also gotten it done faster, but that was what happened when the only Wizarding hospital in Britain was understaffed.

"Never get a rookie to do a Mega's work". Unfortunately, they didn't have much choice.

* * *

><p>'It's so kind of you to do this,' the old lady said thankfully, easing into a chair as the MediWizard, now dressed as a regular paramedic and taking a detour on the way home to visit an old and rather sick friend of his mother's. 'I don't know what you do; those nurses can't manage to do anything right.'<p>

Koichi didn't comment; she didn't know after all that Wizarding remedies worked different than the conventional Muggle ones. Actually, she also didn't know he was a Wizard. The Code of Secrecy and all that.

'Hmm…this tea tastes good too. Unlike that disgusting mixture of garlic and God knows what. What's in it?'

'Herbs and things,' the other easily replied. 'It's good to see you're feeling better.'

'It's good to see you're looking better too.' The old woman peered through her hair. 'It was such a tragedy, people dying left and right. It's almost like a plague…' She sighed. 'Do you know anything about it?'

'No, nothing about a plague.' He wondered about that. Perhaps it was the cover story from the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee. He'd have to check if it was.

'And that serial killer on the loose.'

Nope. _That_ was the excuse the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee came up with. Koji had mentioned that; it was the easiest way to explain all the obvious murders without drawing attention to the war. Of course, the Police were baffled, but when weren't they?

There was a red flash of light coming through the curtains.

'Oh, fireworks,' the old woman sighed, tweaking the curtain back a bit and watching a green flash, followed by a purple one. 'How nice.'

Koichi was packing his things after the first flash.

'Oh, are you leaving already?'

'I have to,' he said quietly, trying to keep all emotion out of his voice. 'Koji is expecting me home soon.'

'Well, good bye then dear. Do come back and visit soon.'

Koichi waved at her and saw himself out the door, before setting off to the area the flashes were coming from. Near as it was, there was no advantage apparating, and any time he would have gained would be lost trying to get his bearings.

It was a good thing he hadn't, because curses were flying in all directions. It seemed that members of the Order; he recognised Marlene McKinnon from that incident by the palace. Unfortunately, there was still more men in masks than Wizards, and each adult was fighting at least three on one…not counting the casualties.

The man nearest to him seemed to be having the most trouble, so he quickly sent a stunner in that direction. No doubt Aurors would arrive soon if they weren't tangled with the others. Not in uniform, it was quite difficult to tell one from the other. But they'd be there; there were plenty of obvious Death Eaters and a good sweep for Azkaban…provided they could be neutralised. And provided they could thread through with those who had been _Impeurised_ or threatened.

The stunner was retaliated with another one which he blocked with a _Progeto_ while the man continued to grapple with the three he had left.

The one who had ducked his stunner decided to move away from the flock, sending a green jet he immediately ducked, shooting a jinx which ironically stuck the guy who didn't decide he'd suddenly like to see him dead. He did get a thanks out of the deal, but he had backed into the next street, dodging green jets and blocking reds, and another decided to break away and help.

'Great,' he muttered to himself, a jinx finally hitting its mark, causing the other to curse and take off his mask with his free hand, clawing at his suddenly fungal-covered eye. 'Now I'm acting like a Gryffindor, jumping into the fray like this.'

He was no professional level duellist, but he didn't get an Exceeds Expectations on his NEWTS in Defence Against the Dark Arts for nothing. He immediately took advantage of the distraction and sent another stunner which managed to hit square over the heart. The man gave a little 'oh' and fainted.

Unfortunately, in the meantime, the other man who still had his mask and four working limbs, managed to hit him with something.

That left him on the ground, feeling around the debris for his wand, though he had to abandon the search for a moment to dodge a hex.

'_Stupefy!_' he cried, snatching up the acacia wood and aiming it at the other.

He dodged, sending a purple jet at him, which he barely managed to deflect before being assaulted with more red and green jets. Focusing on the greens, a blistering jinx got through his shields and he dropped his wand again with a wince.

It lay innocently in front of him, but the wand inches from his face prevented its retrieval.

The man twirled his wand, pulling the conjured knife out of the air. 'Let's see how filthy your blood is Mudblood. Or should I play some more sport?'

'How about you do neither?' he spat back, waiting for an opening or let-down in guard. The clashes and bangs and flashes of light meant the others were still fighting, though numbers on both sides seemed to have lessened. 'I'm not Muggle-born at all.'

Which was perfectly true. His father was a Wizard.

'And yet you run around in Muggle attire helping Muggles and you even live…' He laughed. 'Excuse me, I meant to say, lived, with a Muggle. You look rather like her you know.'

He froze. 'You knew my mother?'

The laugh came out even louder. 'I was right. And to answer your question…' He didn't notice the hand creeping up to snatch the wand. 'I _killed_ her.'

'_Crucio!_'

The laughter changed into a high, shrill cry, but he wasn't twitching or collapsing, though he was certainly shaking.

'Fresh out of school are we?' He was breathing hard, but already recovering. 'Not bad. Shame Muggle Lovers are as bad as Muggle scum.'

He sent a jinx to block the other's next spell, and the two tarried a little, blow for blow, before pointing his wand at the debris. '_Confringo!_'

The debris exploded, covering them both in dirt.

For a moment, Koichi coughed blindly, shaking. He couldn't believe the situation he had fallen into. Blood was raging in his ears; he didn't think he'd ever been so…angry before. This was the guy who'd blown his mother apart, probably with the same spell he'd just used, and he just stood there and _laughed_.

That accounted for most of the shaking. Not to mention it was starting to get rather cold. Not that he really noticed.

'_Imperio_.'

He ducked, sending a green get where the other had come from. There was a shriek, and he thought he hit…before a floating sensation suddenly drifted into his mind.

That got rid of all emotion, which served as both a good thing and a bad one. The good news was he could think more clearly now, and he berated himself for falling for such cheap and dirty tricks. The bad news was that he was now struggling under the foggy sensation, trying to ignore the little voice in his head telling him to redirect his attack at the order members instead.

'_They are the enemies. Blood traitors, scum, all of them_…'

He was starting to wonder why he was resisting.

'_No_,' another little voice in his mind screamed at him. _'He's lying...'_

_ 'Muggle Lovers, wasting their time with insects and filth. They need to be squashed, just like them…'_

'_Koichi! Hang on!_'

Okay, that last one was a little off for a voice inside his head.

'_He's the worst. Kill him…make him pay…'_

It suddenly got rather chilly, and the two sets of fog battled. That helped a little, and he managed to shoot a hex a little off, so it caught the lamp-post and rebounded instead of hitting the red haired man who was chasing after another in robes. The Death Eater turned, a little distracted, and noticed the Dementors swooping down.

Panicked, he disapparated. Apparently, Death Eaters couldn't summon Patronuses.

Unfortunately, the fog hadn't left his mind, nor had it lessoned with distance. The Order Members, and whatever Aurors were entangled, all now summoning Patronuses as Dementors swamped down on them.

Their backs were so exposed…

The wand fell from his hands, luckily (or not), falling into a crack from where he couldn't retrieve it again. That meant that the voice in his head could argue al it wanted and it would never succeed.

The problem was now he couldn't summon a Patronus, and he could barely move as the cloaks swooped upon them.

A clawed hand reached up, and he scrambled for a wand. There was definitely one from the unconscious man, though he forced himself not to watch the soul disappitating into the air between the filled hood and the body.

His fingers closed around the wand as a clawed hand tightened against his throat.

The fog lifted slightly as he struggled for breath, and he pointed his wand at the black mass that hovered beside him, pushing him slowly to the ground.

'_Expecto Patronum_!' He cried, trying to think up of a happy memory. The problem was that the fog was still being rather persistent, though now it was a jumble. The last command was echoing in his head, and he fought that with all his might as it tried to scream louder than ever.

He almost forgot about the claws around his throat, tipping his head back. Glazed eyes saw the hood descending as if through heavy mist, both astonishingly clear and hopelessly clouded…

_'KILL HIM!_' the voice repeated.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **__This chapter overlaps with the other one, taking Koji's POV while Koichi was busy fighting Death Eaters…and that Dementor…_

_Only one chapter left now._

_Err, I think that's all I have to say. Except the story stats tell me hardly anyone read the last chapter which is…well, surprising to say the least. Was there something in the second chapter? Oh, who am I asking anyway. If you didn't read the last chapter it's even less likely you're going to read this…*goes into a corner and sobs*_

_Enjoy, and R&R._

* * *

><p><em><strong>THE LIGHT BENEATH DARKNESS' SHADES<strong>_

_**Chapter 4**_

'C'mon kid, stop crying.' The words came out slightly harsh, but he _hated_ seeing people crying, especially _little_ children who either shed tears at things that seemed remarkably stupid to the adult world (and yes, that included the newly inundated adults) but were oh-so-important to the mind of a kid.

He stopped, remarkably. But that may have had more to do with the fact that he looked rather imposing in his mauve robes and with his wand held like a weapon. Especially since he doubted his face looked rather appeasing.

'Oh calm down,' Takuya grinned, tucking his own wand behind his ear. 'We're all just fine and dandy and…hey, where's the medic?'

'Here,' the woman a few years their senior grumbled, tending to a sprained wrist the "Muggle" way…seeing as the patient seemed petrified of the sticks. The cloaks didn't seem to bother her though.

'Oh…right.' Takuya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 'I guess everything's not-'

'No it's not,' Koji snapped.

'Sheesh. I'm just trying to be optimistic.' If the spectators didn't know any better, they'd think the brunette was actually feeling rather hurt. 'Bust because-huh?' He broke off as Koji suddenly jerked and then dropped his wand with a wince. 'What is it?'

'I don't know,' the other scowled, gritting his teeth as another bolt of pain shot through his head, nagging him rather persistently…before fading and leaving behind a dull ache. 'Koichi…' he said soon afterward, getting a snatch of whispering and fear and darkness and fog…before all that vanished too. 'Something's wrong. It has to be.'

He stood a little unsteadily and walked a few paces, getting ready to apparate, before Takuya grabbed his arm.

'Woah buddy,' he cautioned. 'You'll ruin all your hard work if you do that here, and should _we_ come along, just in case. After all, the last time you two ran into trouble, you guys didn't fare particularly well…or rather wouldn't have if Lady Luck hadn't decided to be nice to you and spare the two of you a break.'

'And you might need me,' Clara added. 'As backup.' She wisely refrained from saying "just in case" or any variation thereof. There was absolutely no need to get a twin worked up about his sibling. Especially someone like Koji who had a sometimes unreasonable tendency to throw his brother in front of everything else. Koichi did that too, but he was, for the most part, more level-headed. In fact, it took quite a bit to make him lose his cool, and the only two examples they had ever witnessed were when Koji first found out about his broth (which was also perhaps one of the few displays of irrationality from the elder twin) and when Koji's name had come out of the Triwizard Cup.

'Oh, all right.' Koji could see the sense in their words. 'I just…I don't think I've ever felt anything like that before.' His head now held a dull echoing ache, as if he had suddenly lost all control in anger…only it hadn't been anger. Or it might have been. He could taste a little bit of copper on his mouth. But what on earth had gotten his level-headed brother worked up?

If he was angry though, there was a very good possibility there was nothing to worry about. But the sudden emptiness that had left his mind reeling bothered him.

'There's a good place,' Clara said, jerking a thumb behind the warehouse, before starting suddenly as a phoenix flared into view.

'That's where Koichi is,' Koji said in a tone that anyone who didn't know him well, Clara Clayton included, would mistake as sullenness. Takuya, who was more familiar with the raven haired male, knew it to be his own way of voicing (albeit behind a mask) worry. And no-one could blame them either, with their father and stepmother out of the country, and perhaps even unaware of Tomoko's…murder. They probably were unaware, Takuya figured. Otherwise they would have rushed right home. And no doubt both twins were doing their utmost to keep them out of the country, and the war, seeing as what had happened to their birthmother. No doubt they still blamed themselves somewhere deep down. If they had just tried harder to keep her out of harm's way. Or done the wards better. Or, God forbid, modified her memories and sent her out of the country (it was their father's work that had pulled them away, but Takuya seriously doubted it was that preventing his return; he had just been the unlucky almost-squib on his own side of the family tree, apparently only managing potions, Muggle studies, divination and Care of Magical Creatures to any good degree which left him to work in foreign relations). But like anyone, they had found comfort in their mother being there. Just like him, who while having moved out, still visited regularly. Just like Zoe, who still lived with her parents and would, unless there was an unwanted death, continue to do so until their wedding day…which wasn't too far off. But they were fully accomplished wizards themselves. Not like Tomoko who had been a Muggle through and through.

It was lucky he and Zoe had visited when they had. Otherwise who knew what could have happened.

It might also be a lucky thing that he was here with his best friend right now, despite how odd it had been to have a Gryffindor and Slytherin as friends in Hogwarts. Luckily, for the most part it had been misinterpreted as enmity…seeing as they had fought a lot, especially in the first four years. Their more friendly banter following had also been interpreted as inter-house rivalries, and Koji had never sought to correct that, except amongst his brother (and Koichi's friends by extension). Takuya's for the most part hadn't believed him, except for his brother and surrogate brother, both still at Hogwarts for their sixth year.

'You're all done here,' the Auror acknowledged, brushing off his own robes as he straightened up. 'Oh damn.' He had received another Patronus as well.

'Well.' Takuya looked at Koji, before putting a grin on his face. 'Let's go.'

Once out of sight, all three of them spun on the spot and disapparated with a joint crack.

* * *

><p>The place stank of Dementors, even if they were principally soulless, scentless creatures. The fog was a tell-tale sign though, even to those not somehow emphatically connected to the place, and worse, it smelt like blood…and death.<p>

He really hated Dementors. The scent of fear and hopelessness they left behind, the odour wafting through the streets long after their departure. The black cloaks that covered every pinnicle of light to be had. The soulless masses that sucked the happiness out of living, thriving people…as if the war didn't already do that. He didn't even hate the Death Eaters that much, including the one that had murdered his mother. Heck, he didn't even hate Voldermort that much, the one responsible for this war. Because they were human. Somewhere there was the potential for remorse. Somewhere, there was some sort of reason. They had to be. They were human. They _had_ souls. Dementors…he loathed them, and to an extent he was frightened of them. Because they were hungry for happiness, and they had no inhibitions save the Patronus that not every person could master at even the best of times, and once the chill had struck, even more struggled with their charms. It was unnatural, nightmarish. He could stumble across a Dementor in his darkest nightmare and hang in a spider's cocoon, waiting till daybreak and the hope of someone to rescue him. But the Dementors would feed on that too. He couldn't think of anything worse than to have the happiness and hope sucked out, and at the end the soul, leaving behind empty shells that, due to the interference of Dark Wizards, rose from their comatose and decaying state to fight the living's war. He'd seen it once, and once was more than enough.

Takuya grimaced, but he was the only one to have any sort of visible reaction. Both others kept their faces blank; they did deal with more gruesome scenes on an almost daily while Takuya, who was a Beater for Puddlemore United, didn't. Still, it wasn't exactly usual to see a blown up body.

Koji had gone stock still though, but luckily the resemblance was rather minimal. The body was mostly intact for one; the outside body that was, except for the face which was a bit of a mess. There was something that looked suspiciously like a mix of blood and interstitial fluid: a mix of lymph, mucous and ruptured cellular matter.

There was another body a few feet away, although not nearly as badly…mutilated. Then there were small crowds of people, some standing, some slumped, and cracked roads. It was a sight that wasn't entirely common, if only because it looked like an all-out brawl had taken place.

Koji, once he lifted his eyes off the gruesomely dead man, swept the area before locating his twin. From that moment on, he only had eyes for him.

It didn't take long for both Takuya and Clara to join him.

The elder twin was sprawled on his back, apparently unconscious. He most certainly wasn't sleeping, as his face appeared almost entirely devoid of emotion, save for a small crease mark on his forehead that his brother, dropping to his knees beside him, gently smoothed out with his index finger.

His skin was cold to the touch, and rather paler than usual, although the resemblance to a mummy was somewhat reduced with a quick _Scourgify_ (and a muffled curse as Takuya's wand seared his wrist from the simple curse).

'This is the problem with having rare and so called "exceptional" wands,' the brunette grumbled to himself as Clara pulled out her own wand to run diagnostics.

A few minutes and a couple of _Episkey_ spells later, she straightened, pointing the wand at her co-worker's face.

'_Rennervate,' _she said clearly, before frowning as nothing happened. She repeated the spell, getting similar results, before her frown deepened and she cast another spell which gave them all an odd, almost tingly, sensation.

'What was that?' Takuya asked, rubbing the Goosebumps off his arm. 'That felt weird.'

'Sorry,' Clara muttered with a frown, entirely preoccupied elsewhere as she knelt back down.

Koji hadn't moved from his brother's side, still feeling the pulse steadying out beneath his finger.

'He's alive,' he muttered, almost as if daring her otherwise.

'Of course he is,' she snapped, a little on edge. Everyone was, so she couldn't wholly be blamed. 'The Dementors probably sucked out his soul, so excuse me for dealing with the obvious battle-born injuries first.'

The look in Koji's eyes, a mix between pain, disbelief and rage, made her murmur an apology. 'They haven't,' she amended, thumbing through a mental checklist. 'Without the soul, body systems start to fail within minutes, and his seem to be working reasonably fine.' Not exactly up to scratch, so reasonably fine was a relatively good prognosis.

After a few more minutes and another healing spell, she tried the _Rennervate_ spell again, only to once again get no results.

She bit her lip lightly, before looking around. There was someone from the Order of the Phoenix taking care of the messy murder scene…quite thankfully if she dared to be frank. But there did seem to be other injuries, and a few frosted frames broken with finger marks suggested that some Muggles had born witness to some extent.

'You've got a job to do,' she said to Koji as she stood, pointing at the windows.

Koji followed her finger but made no move to resume to duty.

Clara sighed noisily. 'Look,' she said, a little exasperated. 'Physically, your brother's fine. I don't know why _Rennervate_ isn't working, but it could be he's just asleep, not unconscious.'

Takuya stifled a laugh at that, though not a particularly amused one. It seemed to hover more between worry, and perhaps even hysteria. He knew full well, as did Koji, that Koichi had always been unnerved by Dementors, if not frightened by them. That was probably why he always had trouble with Patronuses while being able to master a great many more complex spells and potions with ease.

The woman simply pressed on, ignoring the brunette. 'Just take him home, let him sleep all this off, and if he's still asleep after 38 hours, taking him to a doctor or St Mungo's and get a mind-Healer to look at him. But for now, let Kanbara do the babysitting seeing as he's not working right now, and you go and do your job.'

Koji evidently wasn't happy, but he did so.

Once he had vanished into the nearest house, unlocking it with a quick _Alohomora_, Takuya looked around a little more closely, waving to Clara as she headed for the next injured person. A little colour had returned to Koichi's skin, but he was still rather pale. Obvious Dementor effects, but Clara hadn't said anything about chocolate. Maybe she had cast an euphoria charm instead, as it was, even with magic, a tad difficult to force-feed a person chocolate. Nutrients, yes. Potions, yes. Chocolate, no.

That suddenly reminded him of the other's wand, which he just realised wasn't on the elder twin.

'_Accio!'_

The acacia wood came flying out of a crack in the ground…crushed in two with the dittany stalk poking out of one end.

This time he gasped at the wood. Never had he seen a wand in that condition. But he still had _his_ wand, and if there was ever a need for extra-ordinary magic, it was now, trying to repair a wand which looked like it had met its end.

'_Reparo.'_

A light enveloped the wood, before straightening it. Once it dimmed though, one could still trace the crack, and the small amount of dittany that poked out. Regardless, the brunette swapped wands so he know held Koichi's healing orientated one, and pointed it to the road. _'Reparo.'_

The wand snapped again in his hand as two small slabs managed to join together with a crack in between.

* * *

><p>Zoe was still waiting at the coffee shop for him, which was a relief when Takuya slipped into the booth beside her, a full hour late. She wasn't too thrilled though…until the other explained the circumstances.<p>

'You could have just sent a message,' the blonde sighed, depositing her coffee. 'I was worried, you know.'

'Sorry 'bout that,' the brunette replied. 'I guess Koichi kinda distracted me.'

'How is he?' she asked, concerned. He was her best friend after all.

Takuya shrugged. 'He was still out cold when Koji settled him into bed, but he looked a little better. Bit more colour, no longer resembling a frosticle-'

There was a short bark of laughter. 'Frosticle?'

'You never used to laugh at that.'

'Well, we never used to be fighting wars as soon as we graduated from school. We also weren't engaged back then.'

'So us being engaged gives you the right to laugh at me? That is so not fair.' Takuya deliberately ignored the first part of his fiancé's statement.

'You are such an idiot.' And she whacked him gently on the head with the menu before opening it.

Even with a war outside, they could find time for the smaller joys of life.

'I can't believe we're going to be married in a matter of days.'

'You better not be getting cold feet Kanbara.'

'Me? You're the one who didn't let me see your wedding dress. You did measure it, right?'

A sigh. 'That's because it's bad luck, and yes. Mum came with me.'

* * *

><p>It hadn't been all that long since the last time they'd been in similar positions, Koichi collapsed due to mental shock (or something similar as the current circumstances were unknown) and Koji sitting on a chair at the bedside till he simply couldn't take it anymore, in which case he'd transfer his body over to another chair. He hadn't crossed that line yet, because his brother was still breathing, and fairly normally to, chest rising and falling gently, pushing the covers up and down by the tiniest amount every time. That proved he was alive in any case, and the colour slowly seeping back into his previously pallid skin was even more reassuring.<p>

But it was hours later, and the other still hadn't stirred.

'Brother?' Koji tried again, a little tentatively.

The other didn't even respond to his voice.

Within another half hour, his skin was starting to feel slightly warmer to the touch. While it was an improvement from freezing cold, the fact that he was starting to develop a fever wasn't a good sign at all.

Three hours and a charmed wash cloth later, the other's temperature was still fluctuating between normal and danger level as Koji, sponging his brother's face with a charmed cloth, finally (and unintentionally) nodded off, half-slumped on his brother's bed.

It was nearly daybreak before he, Koji, was brought out of his sleep by his brother finally stirring.

'Koichi!' he half shouted, shooting up and wincing as his back protested to the position in which he had slept.

Koichi opened his eyes, and his twin barely managed to registered the echo of wrongness in his head and the blankness in his eyes before he was suddenly thrown back by some invisible force and slammed into the closed door.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **__Last chapter. Which joins into Halloween, 1981…the 1__st__ defeat of Voldermort for those of you who have forgotten your Harry Potter history. None of them have kids after all, and Shinya's in Hogwarts still. They wouldn't be thinking about Halloween. Poor Shinya's not even going to be at his only brother's wedding though…with the date from last chapter. The winter break is more than a month from Halloween. People are hurrying the weddings because they don't know if they're going to live long enough, but that changes once Voldie's blasted into smithereens. _

_Enjoy, and R&R._

* * *

><p><em><strong>THE LIGHT BENEATH DARKNESS' SHADES<strong>_

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

><p>It was suddenly so hard to remember there was a war out there. For the past months, that had been the thing most prominent on their minds. They went out into it almost every day…except a lucky break he'd been able to catch when he'd been sent off to a birthday party gone awry thanks to some accidental magic. The situation would have been amusing (if a little irritating to have to erase the memories of 20 eight year old kids), but the sudden switch from cleaning up after war-torn hysteria made it seem hilarious. The hilarity hadn't suited his face. So much so in fact that one kid actually had the nerve to ask where his clown costume had gotten to.<p>

Normally, he would have glared the brat into a pile of body fluid. But at that point he had just laughed harder and shaken his head. Hysterical laughter really, but he had felt about as light as a feather as he apparated home. He'd felt immediately guilty though when he arrived to no mother welcoming him home and fussing over him…or even his brother that matter. Koichi had worked overtime, and the guilt had intensified when the elder twin summarised his day in the usual sentence.

But suddenly getting thrown against his brother's bedroom door _by_ his brother, and without a wand at that, succeeded in, for the present time, knocking that war out of his head.

His first thought wasn't anything particularly panic-worthy. Maybe his brother just had a nightmare.

'Koichi!' he shouted. 'It's okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. Nothing's wrong. It's just me. Nothing e-'

He was suddenly slammed against the wall again in a blur, bangs falling over his eyes and obscuring his vision.

It was only after he managed to shake the obscuring hair away and blink to banish the shadows that, really, popped up out of nowhere, that he realised three odd things. One, and the first thing he was drawn to, was the blankness of his brother's eyes and expression, and while he had, in the time the other was indisposed, stood up, his lax posture was notable too. Two, _his_ ash wand, with the Kneazle hair core, was in his brother's right hand, but whatever spell that had been used (he was guessing from the red jet that it was a stunner) hadn't been nearly as powerful as the last time the twins had swapped wands. There was something apparently about their connection as twins that allowed them to use each other's wand to almost the same effect as they used their own…which, considering the differences, was rather remarkable.

The third odd thing was that the emptiness he had registered just before apparating to his brother's side earlier that afternoon had still not faded, even if he had pushed it out of his mind. He didn't actually register that fact however until he looked into Koichi's blank blue eyes.

'Brother?'

It didn't look as though the other had even heard him. Or if he had, the tone meant nothing to him. The stick moved fluidly through the air to point between his eyes, right hand gripping tightly. Even if he wanted to tackle the other or hit with something, there was little chance he'd be able to pry that grip lose. Especially in the position it was, knuckles turned inward and out of harm's way was the dorsum sat on the outside, ready to resist and absorb attack. The only place on the hand better was the inside palm with all its fat.

Something was _definitely_ wrong.

'Koichi-'

'Shut up,' the other snapped in a voice that was almost unrecognisable as his own. 'I want to hear you scream, not whine.'

That was something completely out of character. But was it the Imperius? Or something else?

His brother hadn't just snapped. He knew that. Because he was sure, absolutely sure, he would have felt it. Or noticed was perhaps a more encompassing term.

Or maybe he was just kidding himself, and this was what war did, closer to home. Destroyed families in all forms. Killed members. Turned members against each other, whether by their free will or not. Or just turned them wild, uncontrollable. Drove them into their own heads to escape the horror in front of their eyes.

For a moment, he wished he had his wand…then immediately felt sick with himself. What was he going to do if _he_ was the one with the weapon? If it was the Imperius, there was no known way to break it…unless they killed the person under its control. No-one knew if killing the caster would do anything. They did know however that indisposing them was only a short term relief. Similarly for knocking out the subject. It just didn't work. And on occasion it made the job that much worse.

The only time he bumped into those sorts of situations was trying to sort out the aftermath. Using Legilimency to try and figure out whether a person is innocent or guilty of the crimes they are said to have committed was a real chore, especially when everyone carried around the antidote to Verutiserum. Still, a person's mind was so complicated that who knew if the cells of Azkaban were being occupied by the guilty or the innocent. It was something to lose sleep over if he helped put a blameless man behind bars…but no-one was blameless when it came to war, were they? It could turn anyone on their head.

But he wasn't an accomplished Legilimens. His ability was only enough to help with his job as an Obliviator, to know which memories he was erasing and which he was tying together so the erase would go undetected. It also helped him understand how people were feeling, but it was really Koichi who was the empathic one. He sort of cheated on that aspect.

That blankness in his mind was the most bothering. But he _couldn't_ fight with his brother. Especially when he didn't know what was wrong.

He made eye-contact, and in an instance, his mind reeled with an onslaught of hatred and sadistic amusement.

_Oh god…_

He blanched dryly, supporting himself on the frame, then risked another look up with a spinning head – to see the wand lower ever so slightly and the arm shake.

'Koichi?' he tried again, this time making sure to avoid eye-contact. He was still shaking. It was the sudden onslaught he had gotten before apparating to his brother, although it had taken a moment for that to click. He was sure though. But he hadn't been there. That hatred hadn't been directed at him. But it was. He didn't understand it at all.

Then he heard someone laughing. He could swear it. But before he could figure out who, where or why, there were two separate flashes of light, one parried by a red jet by his own wand in his brother's hands.

'Get down.'

The next moment, Zoe's weight was on top of him as the red jet was bounced back by a shield charm and then dissipated.

'Koichi, what the heck are you doing?' She frowned suddenly. 'Where'd Takuya get-_Progeto!'_

Another shield to parry the silent jet of light. It might have been a stunner, but it could also be something more deadly. With silent spells, there was always that risk to be considered.

It wasn't when Zoe sent a stunner of her own that Koji moved, grabbing her wrist to force the jet of light into the floorboards.

'What are you-?' she began before giving a small 'oh' in surprise as a jet of light hit her, collapsing against the open frame, before groaning again and dropping her wand. 'Uurgh.'

There was another laugh, and then a flash, but Koji only had eyes for his brother, who's own had flickered slightly with…something, and the grip laxed ever so slightly.

The next moment, there was a crash, a bang, a curse that sounded suspiciously like Takuya, and then the wand was flying in an arc through the air to land at Koji's feet as Zoe, her own outstretched, slid to the ground with another groan.

'What did you hit me with?' she moaned, gritting her teeth as she tried a _Finite_ (after making sure Koji picked up his wand) to no effect.

Koichi didn't give any indication that he had heard. In fact, he didn't move at all. But then, Koji's wand went flying through the air again, this time through the open doorway.

'_Stupefy!'_ That was Takuya, and the red jet lit up the hallway, before fading into a wall and leaving a stretch of shadow behind.

'You'll have to do better than that,' was the unfamiliar reply, but for some reason, the tone made Koji's blood boil. But then the speaker came into view, turning to smirk at the three in the bedroom while blocking another red jet of light.

'Liking my present you two?' he asked, tossing the wand straight at Koichi who slightly fumbled the catch. That made the other frown slightly, but then he shrugged it off.

'Let me guess,' Zoe muttered, straightening up with a wince, wand at ready (on her best friend; she hoped Takuya could handle their visitor, as someone need to do something about Koji's wand). 'Imperius curse_._'

'No way,' Koji denied, getting off the ground and standing between his brother and…reluctant friend. 'You're not hurting him.'

Zoe suppressed another wince. 'Koji,' she reasoned, although she did lower her wand. 'It's not like I _want_ to, but if he is under the Imperius curse, he won't listen to rea-watch out!' She threw herself forward to knock him down, then screamed as though a thousand knives were plunging into her gut.

Koji was pressed down because of her weight, but he heard her scream in agony, and he felt every squirm, instinctively as she tried to wither away from the pain. And he felt her collapse bonelessly against the cushion he provided, trying to get her breathing under control. Then there was a shift that definitely wasn't instinctual, a roar from Takuya, and then a repeat as she was screaming again.

By the end, she was half crying in her gasps for air and to reduce the pounding in her ribs.

There was another laugh. Apparently Takuya hadn't succeeded in clawing it off yet, although he showed the unmistakable signs of a rather interesting hex that gave him a…rather revolting appearance. They were Takuya's specialty: hexes. Now if only someone had invented one to stop that stupid laugh.

'Imperius,' the man agreed, pulling up his sleeve to show-case the mark that sat there. Zoe crawled off Koji, picking her wand up where she had dropped it, but Koichi made no move to attack again. Thankfully too. She needed the moment. 'You see my point?'

Koji gritted his teeth. Koichi was one of those people who would never be able to manage the Cruciatus curse, no matter how much he hated someone, how much he wished to see them suffer. He just wasn't that sort of person. The Imperius perhaps. The Avada Kevadra perhaps. In fact, he had used that one before, although the correct term would be Mercy Killing. He'd been unusually quiet the days following thereafter, but he could use it. But he simply couldn't use the Cruciatus. After all, you had to mean the Unforgivables. That was why they were named as such. And his very inner nature forbade that.

He'd thought his brother would have fought against that command at least, if nothing else.

'I meant you to get that,' the man muttered, looking down at the nineteen year old.

'He wouldn't hit me,' Koji replied, but the tone seemed very far away. The Imperius made people do things they would never do.

'He would have if your girlfriend hadn't gotten in the way.'

That was true, he realised slowly. And Zoe wasn't his girlfriend. She was his brother's best friend. She was his best friend's fiancé, soon to be wife. She wasn't much to him except by association. They didn't get along all that well. She knew he blamed her for the fact his brother had never found anyone he would truly be happy with, even though both said it was a mutual agreement and that the pair in a relationship simply didn't work. She knew he blamed her, albeit a little unfairly, for the fact that he was so quiet and recluse even in the place he could have made new friends, because he met her first, and she was so different from everyone else. And she blamed him for things she didn't divulge, but there she was, taking the pain of the Cruciatus for him. And no-one could take pain for another on a whim, or on the instinct of humanity. Mankind was too flawed. Too selfish.

That just proved that there was a relationship between that blame and distance. Maybe one day they'd stop forcing themselves to get along with each other for the mutual friend, and actually enjoy each other's company.

'That's sick,' Zoe spat back, although her tone was still a little shaky. She still kept one eye on her friend, and her wand arm shook with something that wasn't a consequence of the Cruciatus. He was sure of it.

The Death Eater shrugged. 'I'm just here to see what made the curse take hold suddenly,' he shrugged. 'And do a little spring cleaning. After all, I took care of your mother, didn' I?'

He lazily put up a shield to block Takuya's curse, but the next one somehow got past. Unfortunately, the bombardment of hexes didn't seem to be doing a whole lot.

'You…' Suddenly, the unbidden anger made sense. Although it was unlike Koichi to lose control, anyone would at having _that_ thrown in their face in the middle of a fight. If Takuya didn't suddenly hit the guy with a stunner that dragged him away from the conversation, he probably would have cursed him into oblivion.

Actually, it wasn't really Takuya who stopped him. It was Koichi, or rather, the wand clattering to the floor as he lost his grip entirely.

The man blasted Takuya back with a growl. 'What are you doing?' he snapped at large. 'You don't have a soul, remember?'

Koji rounded on him. 'What do you mean?' The tone would have made any reasonable man shake in his boots, but this guy was insane. Insane and dangerous.

'I'm talking about those stinkin' Dementors boy,' he crowed. 'Dead handy, I'll tell ya that. They suck out the souls, leaving the body for control-'

Takuya sent a green jet at him. Unusual for him, but this fight was personal after all. Everyone lost themselves in war. Especially when it loomed too close, even if it was just a tiny part in a much larger battle.

'You didn't say that when you and your lot fled like cowards,' he yelled.

'Better to flee like a coward and leave,' the man sneered back. 'But Muggle-lovers deserve to be puppets after all. But I didn' go far. Not at all. I saw that chaste kiss. You can blame your lot if anything, for coming too late.'

That wasn't a point any of them were taking kindly too. Zoe summoned the wand when Koichi reached for it again, handing it to Koji, who took it with a bit of hesitation. She kept her own wand trained, debating whether or not to immobilise the other…but it didn't look like he'd be able to tackle them. There was something lethargic, almost dead, about his posture. She was going to have nightmares for weeks. She just knew it.

'But mayhap I need a stronger curse.'

And the wand was pointed at Koichi. Both Zoe and Koji raised their own, shields ready –

Then something interesting happened.

The Dark Mark, showing still past the sleeve, vanished into thin air. Koichi's form fell forward with nothing to support him as Koji abandoned the other to catch him, and the man cursed profanities, half of which none of them had ever heard before, and fired a green jet of light straight at the twins before vanishing with a crack as Zoe's own jet managed to hit. Soon, someone would hunt him down and make him pay with that tracking spell, but now wasn't the time as she turned, almost in slow motion, shouting for Koji to move.

He didn't hear her, but the green jet was swallowed by…something, just before it hit, so all Koji felt was warm air buffeting his back.

'Now how's that for "bangs and smells" spellwork,' Takuya said with a lopsided grin as he managed to get himself onto the ground on two feet with a wince. 'There's a way to block the Avada Kevadra.'

Somehow, Koji missed all of that, even the relieved Zoe giving his fiancé a kiss on the lips.

'I thought-'

'Not that I was dead I hope.'

'Of course not you idiot.' But she was lying. They both knew it. In those split seconds, no-one could help but not let that thought cross their minds for even the barest moment.

Then they turned together to the twins, Koichi lying limp, almost like a rag doll, in his brother's arms, Koji shaking him gently.

'What happened?' he asked enlarge.

'My guess is that the Imperius broke off for some reason,' Zoe replied. 'It didn't seem absolute somehow.' There was a pause. 'Maybe he was lying about-'

'Look at his eyes,' Koji interrupted, staring at the blank blue orbs focused on nothing.

She stifled a gasp, and even Takuya, brave, strong and somewhat reckless Takuya, turned his head away, although he quickly turned back to his friend. 'What are you going to do?

His wand was still ready to cast another spell. After all, aside from Koichi, he knew Koji best. Perhaps even better than his own parents, seeing as they had spent seven years being the bane of each other's existence…whether that be in passion and zeal or with the mask of pretence upon their face.

'You're getting a stupid idea,' he continued it. 'I know you are.' He said it quietly enough though that only Zoe heard, and she didn't comment.

'He's still alive,' Koji muttered to himself, feeling the thready pulse, but it was dying, and he knew it. Without a soul to maintain function, the bodies didn't last long. Minutes max. But the Imperius curse had somehow slowed that.

His own wand was halfway up before a hex sent it out of his hand and under the cabinet.

He immediately rounded on Takuya, before stopping at the sorrowful look on the normally boisterous and, admittedly, boyish face.

'It won't do any good Koji,' he said.

'Of course it will,' the other rebuked. 'It'll keep him alive, and he'll wake up and-'

'It might keep him alive, but then he'll be a puppet. Your puppet.'

'And he'll suffer longer the longer you try to draw out the last thread that links whatever remains of his soul together with his body,' Zoe continued. 'He was right in a way. If someone had gotten there faster…but there's no use arguing over what's already done.' Admittedly, it was a little easier to say that, having not found out about the mess until dinner that night. 'Bodies need the entirety of their soul to be alive. Even if he does wake up, it'll be because you subconsciously ordered him to. Anything he does will be because he's under the Imperius curse, and at the same time his body will be deteriorating. You can't stop it Koji.'

His eyes trembled, before watering. His fists clenched tighter. 'He's my brother,' he muttered.

'And he's my friend,' the blonde said in the same tone.

'And mine,' the brunette added. 'But he wouldn't want this, and you're going to hurt yourself too.'

'I don't care,' he muttered sullenly as the first tear fell onto his hands. 'I'd do anything.'

'Face it.' It was almost harsh, but the bluntness was needed. 'You _can't_ do anything. You can't bring his soul back together in his body. The best thing you can do now is just to send him on.'

Another tear joined the first.

'Hey,' the brunette offered. 'Maybe he'll come back as a ghost.'

'Can he?' Zoe asked, looking straight into the brown eyes.

Takuya shrugged. 'I don't see why not. Ghosts are "imprints of dead souls" after all. You don't need a whole lot for an imprint-ouch.'

Zoe whacked him. Hard.

'Watch how you say things,' she hissed, but luckily Koji missed the accidental insensitivity.

'He won't do that,' Koji muttered, knuckles turning white in an effort to suppress his tears. 'He wouldn't want that. He'd go on, to whatever's after death. And he'd castrate me if I even thought of following too soon.'

He could barely feel the pulse anymore.

Zoe stifled a sob of her own, burying it into her hands. She'd been lucky. Few people near her had been affected. Sure, her loved ones were on the field, but they'd never been seriously hurt…save the time Takuya almost lost his leg. Luckily Koichi had managed to save it.

He couldn't save himself though. It wasn't his fault he couldn't summon a Patronus. He'd always struggled with them. He might have been calm and collected on the outside, but those who knew him well knew the turmoil burrowed beneath. They knew he had had a hard time growing up with a single mother who'd struggled to meet ends until a miracle turn of events gave her a better job and her son a place at Hogwarts. They knew he'd had problems with accidental magic that could be classed as traumatising; after all, his mother was a Muggle, with no knowledge of magic whatsoever. Worse, he had been friendless. Not like Koji, who had simply been a loner. He had just been the sort who stood out without meaning, or wanting, to. Ravenclaw's mysterious blanket suited him perfectly, but even then, he didn't fit into it like a glove. She knew that deep down, Koji had always known it had nothing to do with her.

Takuya patted his fiancé on the back in a way of comfort, his own eyes painfully dry, before leaving her standing by the door and taking a few steps forward to sink beside the twins.

'You have to let him go,' he said, trying to keep his voice calm even as a waver betrayed him. 'You're just holding both of you back. You know grasping at threads isn't going to do you any good. You just have to let him go, otherwise that sliver of his soul that's left isn't ever going to get any peace.

'How do you know?' Koji cried, his body shaking with suppressed sobs.

'I don't, but I know you do.' He paused, then took a deep breath before putting an arm around the younger twin. 'Just let go. Please.'

The pulse stilled, and the younger twin dissolved forward with sobs. Takuya's own heart cried, even as fireworks began blasting above them. What were they celebrating? They shouldn't be celebrating. Heck, the sky should be crying, rolling over its tears and sorrow.

But the world didn't come to a standstill because of one death in a million in a war. And by the shouts starting to stir the outside world, it was a war that had now ended.

A war that had killed people. Destroyed them, both physically and emotionally. A war that had blasted the insides of an innocent woman amongst her living room. A war that had turned healers into murderers. A war that turned the luxury of sport into something almost empty and mechanical; an escape route. A war that had turned a marriage into a rush job. A war that had merged boundaries people worked so hard to keep apart. That had turned the bliss of ignorance into something utterly worthless. That had sucked all the happiness and life out of people…and that, perhaps, was the worst of it all. Because people could recover from other hurts. They could recover from injury, or guilt, or death. But there, before them, lay the ultimate proof that no-one could survive with their soul taken away from them.

'I…I hate them…' His head came forward, bangs covering his eyes from the world as one shaking hand lifted to close the other pair, before falling short.

He didn't think it was possible, but they, the Dementors, who lived and bred by sucking out the souls of people who had their whole lives ahead of them. Good or bad, male or female, young or old. There was no discrimination, just as the hammer of war so no difference. They were creatures who brought a pain one could never recover from. Who could say that small sliver of a soul now floating who knew where would find the rest of itself in the Dementor's belly, or peace.

The fireworks lit up the night sky. Orange, yellow, red, green…there was no discrimination. Everyone was celebrating.

The words, the good tidings, reached them.

Voldermort was gone. Dead. Defeated.

Somehow, the words seemed almost hollow.

'Maybe we should go,' Zoe murmured from the door. A knock from outside followed soonafter.

Takuya looked up, then made a jerking motion with his head.

'What are they celebrating?' Koji muttered.

'It's over.' The words seemed dry and bland, but maybe it was because of the face of death right in front of them. There was a war that had been won, in the end, but so much blood had been spilt. Somehow, he'd never imagined it, in its entirety, till that moment, when the scythe fell in the dust of his feet.

They couldn't blame the others after all. No doubt they'd passed this stage. No doubt it had come much sooner to them…or they had been lucky enough to avoid it entirely.

No, he doubted that. No-one was lucky enough to not be touched by the horrors of war. No-one was lucky enough to never feel the Dementor's chill, however distantly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The End.<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Post AN: **__Bodies can't live without souls, so I assume the body'd die if a few minutes without the soul. The Imperius Curse controls the mind, but you need a least a sliver of soul to keep that intact…relatively. Obviously you're going to have some problems, but it's certainly easier than trying to control someone who's too stubborn or has a natural disposition against fighting the Imperius. Koichi fought it in Ch 3, but he was struggling with it. He didn't throw it off entirely. The Dementors messed things up, and between the Imperius curse, his natural disposition that restrains him from summoning Patronus, and the emotional trauma of coming face to face with his mother's killer, he couldn't conjour up anything at all. And the Dementors were attracted to him. Feeding time just got a little interrupted so they didn't devour his entire soul, which would have kept him alive for a few minutes still, if it hadn't been for the Imperius. Otherwise, it would have just broken away from the body, much like Voldermort's did. It may have attached to something, or it may have floated up to where the dead souls go. Or become a ghost. Who knows. Koji wasn't necessarily right, but he is most likely correct._

_Koji didn't react the same way Koichi did for several reasons. One, he was rather preoccupied with more serious issues. Two, he felt his brother's emotions which somewhat frightened him. Three, Zoe and Takuya were there, and the mere presence helped. Koichi was essentially alone. Four, he didn't really get the chance to do anything, what with his wand changing hands a lot and all._

_As for Koji about to try the Imperius, it would have compelled Koichi's body to survive, but it probably would have only lasted for a few/couple of days before the part of soul left broke away. It was already breaking; remember the parts where the wand laxed/fell? If the Cruciatus had hit Koji, that might have impacted as well, but as it was, it was Zoe who took the hit. That may suggest that the two never loved each other romantically, or it might not. After all, Imperius can make people do things they would never do. Koichi would, in this fic, never manage the Cruciatus curse. Again, Ch 3._

_That part might have been a little obscure, so I thought I'd explain myself._


End file.
